The IoT, which means “Internet of things”, and cloud solutions are not only a current topic, but also highly relevant in the industrial sector.
The suppliers and all the staff of the industrial organisation should collaborate during the entire manufacturing and installation process so that the manufacturing process runs without complications. IoT cloud solutions provide a very good ecosystem for collaboration because they support most of the collaboration solutions applied in the industrial sector.
There are more and more digitalisation initiatives, and the number of cloud solution providers is growing steadily.
The largest providers of IoT cloud solutions are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GPC) and Microsoft Azure.
For cloud solutions, you can choose between
- private,
- public und
- hybrid clouds.
Private clouds are based on a cloud computing model that has its infrastructure dedicated to exactly one application company. Public clouds, on the other hand, represent an IT model for which on-demand computing services and infrastructure are managed by a third-party provider. These are shared with other organisations through the public internet. A hybrid cloud is thus a mixture of the other two clouds. In this cloud computing model, which consists of at least one private cloud and a minimum of one public cloud, a flexible combination of cloud computing services is offered. Those in charge are therefore spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting the right solution for their own IoT application.
What does tool monitoring have to do with IoT cloud solutions?
With Mould Lifecycle Management, you can document every step in the “life” of a mould. This cloud-based software solution gives you an overview during mould production and when used in production. Thanks to the cloud-based software, you are independent of time and location. No matter where you are, you can access production-relevant content.
You are undecided whether IoT cloud solutions make sense for your tool monitoring? Learn about the advantages of cloud computing here.
Criteria and advantages of cloud computing (especially with Azure)
Criteria for the selection of IoT cloud solutions
- Cloud computing is a future-proof technology, especially when it comes to the modern linking of applications in the production environment.
- One of the most important or decisive advantages of cloud computing is scalability: the infrastructure adapts to the current growth and is not a limiting factor in rapid growth.
- Cloud computing has an advantage in the linking of different applications because there are no physical limits.
- There is little responsibility for server hardware because Microsoft Azure takes care of it.
- IT products that are geographically dispersed can be accessed independently of devices, time, and location.
Advantages of Azure
- Microsoft Azure has a strong presence in the enterprise sector (it is the largest and most renowned provider, specifically for IoT application solutions). The compatibility with other applications and the larger community for sharing are advantageous.
- Our Digital Moulds application runs in the public cloud, which has the following advantages: no maintenance overhead (Microsoft Azure is responsible for maintenance), unlimited scalability (resources can be adjusted as needed to meet business needs), and high reliability (a large server network to prevent outages).
- Greatest security
- Compliance with all legal requirements results in the following advantages: built-in compliance functions that follow area standards such as HITECH regulations; a reduction of over 30% in penalties due to minimised compliance violations and easier audits of regulatory and environmental IT compliance.
- Cost-efficiency: payment only when used
- Speed: in development, during use and at scale
- Company-wide and mobile delivery of applications
Of course, there are many other IoT cloud solutions that can increase the profitability of your digitalisation projects.
Here is a brief overview to help you find out which market solution fits your company profile:
Tools
Google Cloud | Amazon Web Services | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
The US company Google was the first provider of IoT cloud solutions, back in 2008. | Amazon first introduced a public cloud offering, in the form of a data store, in 2002. | Microsoft has only been offering some IoT cloud solutions since 2010. |
In the first version, it was possible to run Java and Python applications within the cloud. | Thanks to the ECZ (Elastic Compute Cloud) it has been possible to leases cloud servers since 2006. | As with Amazon Web Services, it is possible to use servers in the Azure cloud using the Linux operating systems. |
Tangible parts, such as PCs and hard disks, as well as intangible components, like VMs, are the components of the Google Cloud. | Amazon Web Services provide a myriad of feature-rich offerings through data centres all around the world. | Microsoft IoT Cloud solutions also include countless offerings, and these are growing all the time. |
Execution takes place in Google data centres scattered around the world. | In Amazon Web Services, you can utilise servers using Linux operating systems. | The Azure Cloud was created to support organisations in the creation, use and administration of IT solutions. |
Google IoT Cloud solutions stand out from other providers with one of the largest networks of dedicated servers and fibre optic cables. Further, Google Cloud Hosting is very fast and can be executed extremely effectively. | Amazon Web Services are excellent in facilitating existing applications (migration) and at the same time providing a wealth of options for implementing new applications. Why? Amazon Web Services provide a virtual space where you can load the offerings and software your application needs. | Microsoft Azure is excellent in the development of new applications, due to its high agility. Why? The necessary infrastructure is always available. This greatly helps internal processes when introducing new applications. |
In general, applications offered as IoT cloud solutions have the advantage of being able to adapt to the changing needs of your business (they are scalable).
So, you have the possibility to start at a small scale and adapt to increasing growth or changes.
To what extent does the use of IoT cloud solutions lead to faster digital profitability?
IoT cloud solutions are easily adaptable to personal needs and therefore require little integration and maintenance. Further, they are dynamic and agile and offer better scalability than IT infrastructures that have grown over time and been established for many years. Costs incurred are amortised very quickly and are eliminated elsewhere (e. g. through wireless communication), which means that the use of IoT cloud solutions leads to a faster digital return on investment.
Conclusion
Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services are most useful for tool monitoring. Google IoT Cloud solutions stand out from other providers with one of the largest networks of dedicated servers and fibre optic cables. Further, with Google Cloud, you have a hosting offering that is very fast and can be run extremely effectively. The advantage of Microsoft Azure is that it is particularly well suited for the development of new applications due to its high agility. This is because the necessary infrastructure is always available, which greatly helps internal processes when introducing new applications. Amazon Web Services is also well suited for migrating new applications.
Digital Moulds uses the IoT cloud solution Microsoft Azure.
One advantage of this is that it means that you have no maintenance overhead (Microsoft Azure is responsible for maintenance). Further, there is almost unlimited scalability – as needed, resources can be adjusted to meet business needs. A large server network that prevents failures increases the return on investment. Last but not least, the high security is also part of the reason to use Microsoft Azure.
Your FAQs
Yes, but IoT cloud solutions do not mean local installation. We do not need the support of the IT department, at least at the beginning.
